Friday, January 14, 2011

I have been sick!

I have not really taken any pictures this past week. It wasn't a great week, really. I had a job interview on Monday, which was fine, and went well, and then I woke up on Tuesday feeling lousy, but since it is the day I work, I decided I would go to work. My schedule was to be there 12-7, with clients every hour. I told Eric I didn't feel well, and that my throat hurt, and he said, "I've heard that before. You're always complaining your throat feels scratchy." (This is not true. I said it while we were in Maine, but I never got sick, and I never acted like I was sick to get out of doing anything.)

I took plenty of Advil, packed tea and honey, and drove down to work. There was snow predicted for the evening, but I didn't think it would start much before I needed to drive home. I think I definitely had a bit of a fever-- I got there and I was freezing, then I was sweating, then freezing despite the fact that my clients were looking overheated... Then I wanted to pump, as I always do mid-afternoon when I am working. I got all ready to pump, but-- no pump parts! So I couldn't pump. In a panic I called Eric and asked him what I should do (why ask him, it is not like he's lactating!). I was already getting uncomfortable. He suggested I call my last 2 clients of the day to cancel our appointments. Given that I felt sick, and couldn't pump, and it would maybe start snowing... I did it. It is lost money for us, but it had to be done. I blamed it on the weather.

When I got home, the underwires of my bra were about a 1/2 inch off my ribcage, and my breasts were coming out the neck of my shirt. So it was probably better that I wasn't seeing clients like that! I definitely felt sick, and left the bedtime routine in Eric's, and his co-worker Alyssa's, hands.

Wednesday morning I felt even worse. I asked Eric if he could take some time off of work to take care of the boys because I felt so lousy, and he said no, he had a busy day. Then I kind of wished we were childless for a day so that I could just stay in bed, I felt achey and feverish. I had been thinking I was getting a cold, but colds don't come with fevers and without runny noses or sneezing. I ended up calling my doctor and getting an appointment for 1:30 pm. Thankfully my mom was free, and she came over after the boys got up from their morning nap and took care of them while I lay around and then went to the doctor. Turns out I had strep throat, and a fever of 102 (this makes me think my thermometer is broken, since it said my temperature was 100.5). All I can say is, thank goodness for antibiotics, and I don't know what people did before them. I was so happy to get a prescription, and fill it.

By Thursday morning I felt somewhat better, but still very tired. My mom came over again to help (so thank goodness for my mom and dad who both helped me out, I don't know how people who don't have family nearby manage with their little ones when they get sick), which kind of got me through the worst of it. By Thursday afternoon I was feeling well enough to have cabin fever and want to get out of the house! So we took the boys out for a frozen yogurt (yes, it was 32 degrees outside) and I bought groceries and cooked some dinner for us.

My doctor had said to stay home, or away from my friends and their children, for 48 hours. This really stunk because our playgroup meets Friday mornings, and we had to skip it. Around 11 am, after the boys had taken a bad morning nap, I told Eric I wanted his company because I was going to lose it. He said he had a busy day... but was going to lunch with our neighbor! We had a debate about it, and I suggested that Eric bring the boys and me to lunch, but it seemed like our neighbor wanted "man time."

So I stayed home and gave the boys lunch, including their first taste of salmon. Salmon is the first food I have given them that I can definitively say they hated. Asher took a taste, made a face, and then stuck his tongue out, with salmon still on it, and waited for all the salmon bits to fall off. Benjamin just screamed, and cried, with big tears running down his face, and I had to reach in his mouth and pull the salmon bits out, because he wouldn't chew or swallow it. It was really sad to see. He recovered well with some applesauce, though.

This afternoon my sister came to town, and tonight we had a lovely dinner with my parents, sister, Aunt Jane, and Jane's friend Anne. The food was good, the boys were in bed, and the adults had a good time laughing. I am feeling almost like my old self, so that part is also good. And I'm looking forward to the weekend-- my sister and I plan to have manicures and pedicures on Sunday!

1 comment:

I remember how hard it was to take care of the kids when I was sick - fortunately, it didn't happen very often. You're right that you're lucky that your parents are so close and willing to help - it's a rare and wonderful thing! Just make sure you don't share your strep with them :)

About Me

I'm a 33 year-old woman with twin sons, born in March 2010, who were conceived with IVF. In April of 2012 I got a surprise- and now have a beautiful baby girl! In my first pregnancy, I was put on bedrest at 21 weeks for a shortening cervix, and created this blog so I can remember my pregnancy and life with twins... and now with one more!